An anthropomorphic cat.
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of
human characteristics to non-human creatures and
beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract
concepts. Examples include
animals and
plants and forces of
nature such as winds, rain or the sun depicted as
creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse. The
term derives from the combination of the
Greek ( ), "human" and ( ), "shape" or
"form".
It is strongly associated with art and storytelling where it has
ancient roots. Most cultures possess a long-standing
fable tradition with anthropomorphised animals as
characters that can stand as commonly recognised
types of human behaviour.
Anthropomorphic animals are often used as
mascots for sports teams or sporting events, often
represented by humans in
costumes.
In religions and mythologies
In
religion and
mythology, anthropomorphism refers to the
perception of a divine being or beings in human form, or the
recognition of human qualities in these beings. Many mythologies
are concerned with anthropomorphic
deities who
express human characteristics such as
jealousy,
hatred, or
love. The
Greek gods, such as
Zeus and
Apollo, were often
depicted in human form exhibiting human traits. Anthropomorphism in
this case is referred to as
anthropotheism.
Numerous
sects throughout history have been called
anthropomorphites attributing
such things as hands and eyes to God, including a sect in Egypt
in the 4th
century, and an heretical, 10th-century sect, who literally
interpreted Book of Genesis chapter
1, verse 27: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of
God he created him; male and female he created them."
From the perspective of adherents of religions in which humans were
created in the form of the divine, the
phenomenon may be considered
theomorphism, or the giving of divine qualities
to humans.
Criticism
The Greek philosopher
Xenophanes (570–480
BC) said that "the greatest god" resembles man "neither in form nor
in mind." Anthropomorphism of God is rejected by
Judaism and
Islam, which both
believe that God is beyond human limits of physical comprehension.
Judaism's rejection grew after the advent of Christianity until
becoming codified in 13 principles of Jewish faith authored by
Maimonides in the 12th Century.
In his book
Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of Religion,
Stewart Elliott Guthrie
theorizes that all religions are anthropomorphisms that originate
due to the brain's tendency to detect the presence or vestiges of
other humans in natural phenomena.
In literature
Anthropomorphism is a well established
literary device from early times.
Aesop's Fables, a collection of short tales
written by the ancient Greek citizen
Aesop,
make extensive use of anthropomorphism, in which animals and
weather are used to illustrate simple moral lessons. The books
Panchatantra (The Five
Principles) and
The Jataka
Tales employ anthropomorphised animals to illustrate
various principles of life.
In Popular Culture
Anthropomorphism plays a role in some popular films and TV shows.
The Griffin family of
FOX's
hit comedy
Family Guy has an
anthropomorphic dog named
Brian, and
the spin-off of Family Guy,
The
Cleveland Show, has a family of anthropomorphic bears.
From the
popular British
animated short films
Wallace and Gromit comes
Gromit, the beloved dog of Wallace. Almost all characters
from
Nickelodeon's hit show
SpongeBob SquarePants
are anthropomorphic in nature, with the exception of the
characters
Patchy the Pirate, Mermaidman and Barnacleboy, and the Flying
Dutchman. Additionally, many of the films made by
Pixar Animation Studios center
around anthropomorphisms, including cars, fish, aliens, monsters,
dogs and many others.
See also
References
- Anthropomorphite.
- Clement of Alexandria,
Miscellanies V xiv 109.1–3
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